This is the winner from the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award 2022. It is from theTP52 regatta in Cascais, Portugal © Nico Martinez/52SS.
Monthly archives for November, 2022
Cruising: Old Sailors Never Die
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 30
2022
Posted by deleteme
Photo courtesy of Lawrence Pane
“Old sailors never die, they just get a little dinghy.” It may be a hoary old joke, but one of my problems at age 79 is I can no longer get easily in and out of a little dinghy, and neither can my (several years younger than me) wife. For this, and various other reasons I will list in excruciating detail below, a few years ago we finally sold Dolphin Spirit, our lovely, cutter rigged, Mason 53.
I had owned her since 1992, and she had taken my wife, son and me around the world safely, comfortably and serenely, in the face of my many mistakes and general ineptitude. How many of us have friends, family or even spouses who can suffer such indignities and still stay silent and forgiving?
To be clear, I am a cruising sailor, not a racing sailor. I do not tack more than once a day, and then only after hours of contemplation. Having said that, many years ago, I loaded Dolphin Spirit up with 15 people (just two of whom had actually sailed before) and more snacks and drinks than should be legal, and we finished third in our division in the Newport-to-Ensenada race. The next year we bettered our previous time by more than six hours and did not place—as good a reason as any to never race again.
During our six-and-a-half-year circumnavigation, I did all the maintenance and fixed everything that broke. To do that, I carried an extensive inventory of spare parts, with tools and operating manuals for almost everything. However, all that would have been useless without some flexibility—mine!
I found early on that many absolutely essential maintenance tasks can be carried out only by a contortionist who has the ability to ignore pain. There has to be a special place in hell for those designers who know jobs like changing the raw water impeller, replacing the drive belts and changing fuel filters have to be regularly done, but still place these items at the extreme limits of human reach…
They come in threes
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Ordinarily, you’d assume the worst when you see that line. It’s like ‘Oh no’, what’s next if you’re on the second, or ‘check this out’ if you’re looking back at all three in wonderment, if somewhat obscured by the tears in your eyes…
Boat Review: Fountaine-Pajot Aura 51
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 30
2022
Posted by deleteme
If you can sell more than 150 catamarans off-plan before the resin has even hit the fiberglass, you must be doing something right. Despite costing around $1.1 million once fitted out and on the water, Fountaine-Pajot’s new 51 has done just that.
The French yard has been at it since 1986 and has built up an enviable reputation for soundly designed bluewater catamarans. Buoyed by the recent purchase of Dufour, the business is booming. It hangs its hat on the rigor of its industrial processes and the consideration that goes into every detail of the design. Not for nothing is Fountaine-Pajot a multiple winner of SAIL’s Best Boats awards.
Design and Construction
A towering mast allied to her principle dimensions of 51 feet LOA and 26 feet 6 inches in the beam make the Aura 51 an imposing boat. Sleek, harmonious lines with some reverse sheer to the deck and the athletic aft sweep of the slim coach roof give her the unmistakable Fountaine-Pajot look. There’s the long-term design input of Berret-Racoupeau to thank for that.
Hulls are built in high-quality vinylester and fiberglass with foam and balsa cores for strength and rigidity. Smaller parts are injection molded (including the coachroof), and vacuum infusion is used everywhere else. This system is expensive but guarantees a more consistent finish with fewer air gaps while using fewer raw materials…
Dragon class celebrates 75 years of Edinburgh Cup
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
In 1949 The Edinburgh Cup was gifted to the BDA by the Duke of Edinburgh after the members of the Island SC presented the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with a Dragon named Bluebottle on the occasion of their marriage in 1948…
Block Island Race Week hits 100 boats
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
100 boats have registered for the 30th Annual Block Island Race Week presented by Margaritaville next for Summer 2023 and sign-ups show no signs of slowing as new teams continue to join the ranks across divisions…
Recruiting Americans for America’s Cup
Wednesday
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After their first America’s Cup challenge in 2021, the NYYC American Magic team made some changes in their pursuit of the trophy. Prominent in that change was bringing Scott Ferguson (Jamestown, RI) to lead the design team. Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck checks in with Ferguson for an update:
You became the Design Coordinator about five months after the 36th America’s Cup. How blank was the sheet of paper?
Terry Hutchinson contacted me early as the team principals weighed their options for the 37th America’s Cup. He commissioned some short-term work to begin improving our simulator. Other than that, the page was blank. Collectively we created the team from there intending to build an American high-performance design and technical team. Many team members and designers rejoined along with some new highly motivated talent.
What was the assessment of the NYYC American Magic race boat in the 36th America’s Cup?
Patriot has many good features but suffered from significant hull drag in light air takeoff as a primary issue. The foils were a good low-area solution for Auckland 2021, while systems and sailability is an ongoing challenge that will continue into the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, 2024.
What can you share about the construction and launch of the new boat?
We have a similar schedule to the previous event in Auckland for the lead-up to the next edition. The new boat will arrive in Barcelona about 4-6 months before the October 2024 competition. The boat will be built in Rhode Island, and I’m sure something will be announced in the coming months.
Any plans for a testing boat (aka LEQ12 boat)?
We will be using AC40s to test some of our components and systems
The team aims to represent America with Americans and to strengthen the future of the sport in the country. How is that being done within the technical team?
We’re proud to represent America, and the design and technical team have many experienced Americans in leading roles. We also have our share of Internationals in key positions which is inevitable to be competitive in the America’s Cup.
We have actively sought design talent within our US borders and paired up many good young American engineers and designers with more experienced counterparts in their area so they can learn from their ideas and methods.
We aim to provide the best opportunities for US talent by encouraging active mentoring and a transparent environment specifically for the long-term technical future.
mostly insane
Tuesday
Nov 29
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 29
2022
Posted by deleteme
You can rent the full movie at Amazon Prime for $3.99
Golden Globe Race lifesaving regulations
Tuesday
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Many people talk about the eye watering effort GGR entrants make to meet the tough safety and qualifying requirements of this gruelling mind game called the Golden Globe. When all the boxes are ticked, they finally receive a “green card”…
Inside the world’s biggest sailing yacht
Tuesday
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
One wonders if the pursuit by the uber-rich to have the biggest yacht is more about claiming it than having it, but there is one such yacht that somebody does need to have. While the images remain conceptual, this creation is serious eye candy. Here’s an update from Boat International:
Announced in 2010, the 141 metre sailing superyacht Dream Symphony was revealed with a number of groundbreaking promises. The four-masted schooner-rigged sailing yacht, currently in build at Dream Ship Victory’s yard in Bozburun, Turkey, would become the largest sailing yacht in the world when launched.
Constructed entirely from wood, epoxy laminated iroko to be precise, it would also break numerous engineering feats. RINA was approached to certify construction, but there was a problem – it had never certified any wooden structure measuring over 30m in length…
Maybe Stan Honey can save the planet
Tuesday
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Efforts by the global community to reduce emissions likes to point its spotlight on transport ships, which deflects attention with dreamy visions of billowing sails propelling goods across oceans. It feels so far-fetched, yet now the proposals include smooth hull bottoms and weather routing.
Sounds like offshore racing, right? Maybe esteemed navigator and inventor Stan Honey can save the planet. Amid unicorns and rainbows, the ship tracking service MarineTraffic offers this update on moving the needle:
As this year’s United Nations climate change conference, known as COP27, comes to a close, governments will be scrambling to finalize agreements on which individual nations and industries can base their renewed efforts to reduce global warming. That’s the theory anyway.
For its part, reports suggest that shipping was visible and ready to participate. IMO has been waving the virtual maritime flag in Egypt, where the conference took place, participating in more than 12 events, including presentations given by the secretary general, Mr Kitak Lim. Further, more than 40 pledges were made to support the transition to green shipping by countries and individual companies, including Amazon. These announcements have been gathered under the Green Shipping Challenge, organized by Norway and the United States.
Whilst the number of projects put forward is encouraging, critics argue that some lack substance and understanding of shipping’s involvement in the logistics chain.
COP27 aside, November has been a busy month for maritime as it rigorously pursues its emissions-reduction pathway. On 1 November, the new Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) came into force. These two new IMO regulations are some of the toughest emissions reduction requirements that shipping has had to implement to date. They take a two-prong approach – the EEXI measures the technical or design efficiency of a ship, whereas the CII measures the operational efficiency.
The industry is having to take a hard look at itself to meet the strict new criteria which comes into effect on 1 January next year. Older tonnage in particular is at risk of receiving scores towards the bottom of the rating system, potentially reducing the commercial viability of this section of the world fleet.
What then, should owners do to secure a higher score? – especially in relation to the CII, which will be an ongoing concern for owners whereas the EEXI is a one-off rating.
There are a few recommended technologies and tools that can increase existing ships’ efficiency levels and reduce their emissions, that do not impact the overall design, operations or fuel used by the vessel.
Amongst these are weather routing and just-in-time arrivals; high-end hull coatings, which reduce friction and minimize biofouling for maximum efficiency and minimal fuel; or, employing the use of wind-assisted technology to provide auxiliary power to the ship, again reducing fuel consumption. – Full report
America’s Cup: Watching water dry
Tuesday
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
There is irony in how the America’s Cup defender, eager to deliver high performance racing for the 37th Match, has us watching grass grow. Okay, it’s not watching grass grow, its watching water dry … pretty much the same thing.
Their pet project, which meant to fill a gap in the schedule, now dives into a meteorological education which needs to soon end. Here’s their latest update:
Lake Gairdner in South Australia is vast, a 160km long and 50 km wide salt lake where Emirates Team New Zealand is aiming to break the Wind powered Land Speed World Record in their land yacht called ‘Horonuku’.
The fly in the ointment in the attempt continues to be that the lake and the state of South Australia, and in fact a large amount of Australia has had excessive rain this year, resulting in an uphill battle against the elements for a prolonged stretch of dry salt to let Horonuku fly…
America’s Cup: Moon rovers of sailing
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Chris Caswell dislikes the current iteration of America’s Cup racing, and he pounds that drum in his Sailing magazine column:
Disclosure: I love sports cars. I’ve loved them since I didn’t have a driver’s license and, since then, I’ve owned them, restored them, raced them and often sworn at them. It’s exactly like my relationship with boats.
Although I’m fascinated by cars of all ilk, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the lunar moon rover. Yes, it’s a vehicle and it has four wheels, but it holds no thrall at all. I’ll probably never see one, let alone drive it or dream about it.
It’s the same way I feel about the America’s Cup these days. The waterbug-like craft that skitter around on foils with no spinnakers, no tacking duels, just sheer speed are the moon rovers of sailing.
I see no “trickle-down” from the America’s Cup. Sailors used to benefit from advances in everything from sail materials to better turning blocks, but I don’t see our marinas suddenly filling with foiled yachts. I’m long past wearing a skin-tight wetsuit, and I’d have to be dipped into liquid neoprene to get into one, though kids sailing Optimists have embraced it…
Eight Bells: Jim DeWitt
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
James Harden DeWitt died November 19, under the care of hospice at his home in Point Richmond, CA. He was 92-years-old.
Jim was born in Oakland, CA in 1930. At age 7, he drew pictures of sailboats while watching his father build a 19-foot sloop in the family’s backyard. Then at age 19, he purchased materials and built his own small boat, an El Toro (#216), and began racing it on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA.
This launched Jim’s remarkable and highly unique career. He became internationally known both as a fine artist who specialized in action-packed, spirited and accurate portraiture of racing yachts, and also as one of the most successful yacht racers from the San Francisco Bay.
School was difficult for Jim as he was dyslexic at a time when nobody understood what that meant. Teachers told him he was lazy or stupid. Fortunately he took an art class in high school and did well. His mother was thrilled and got him into art school. This, he said, “saved his life”.
After high school, Jim trained for six years as an artist, first attending Oakland’s California College of Arts and Crafts, and then Los Angeles Art Center in Pasadena, one of the premier art colleges in the United States.
To save money while going to art school in LA, Jim started making dinghy racing sails for himself. This led to his own sail loft when he returned with his young family to the Bay Area in about 1960. DeWitt Sails operated for many years in a quonset hut on MacDonald and San Pablo Avenue in Richmond.
The business was moved to Brickyard Cove in Point Richmond into a brand new building that housed both the sail loft and his art studio in 1980. A few years later, Jim sold his loft to Sobstad Sails so that he could focus on his art career. Sobstad sold the loft to Quantum. It still operates out of the same building today. – Read on
The Man in the Tower
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Back in August it was a frustrated Sir Ben Ainslie who suggested that the onlooking Duchess of Cambridge should “send him to the Tower”, referring to the Chief Umpire following a rule call at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix…
One Global Lipton Trophy 2022
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 28
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The second constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series 2022-2023, the One Global Lipton Trophy, took place on Saturday 26 November with an average of 5kts of easterly wind being bestowed upon Victoria Harbour…
A special Boxing Day Race, the Rolex Sydney Hobart
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
The British love their Boxing Day races as do the Aussies . . . but the really special one is the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race which begins on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Monday 26 December 2022…
bow wow wow
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
The recent report in SA on the re-emergence of Wild Oats XI after a two-year Covid hibernation has brought out all the gawking rubber-neckers. The supermaxi is always a sentimental favorite for the Sydney-Hobart Race and the local offshore sailing fans love to eyeball the boat searching for the latest changes.
To recap, here’s how WOXI looked in her original state more than a decade ago:
Back then the forestay terminated just aft of the plumb stem and the pulpit sat in a conventional position at the limit of the boat’s maximum 100-foot LOA allowed under the eligibility rule. The headsail was soft-hanked to the forestay.
Then, in late 2016, a re-configured Wild Oats XI emerged after a major re-build:
Now, the boat had a clipper bow and the pulpit was re-positioned well forward of the point where an imaginary vertical line from the stem would meet the deck. The forestay remained in its original relative position…
set adrift
Monday
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 28
2022
Posted by deleteme
When Abigail Danian walked into her kitchen and saw the empty packaging of a burner cell phone on the counter, she knew Isaac had gone. It was Sept. 7, 2020, and she had been out of town for Labor Day.
All weekend, her 20-year-old son, Isaac, had been calling her from the family home in Grand Rapids, Mich. He needed money for a “great opportunity” in Hawaii, but that was all he would say.
Orcas attack Robin Knox-Johnston
Sunday
Nov 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
It is always a privilege when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston checks in with Scuttlebutt HQ. As the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, and then later to set the fastest time to earn the Jules Verne Trophy, RNJ is royalty.
But as much as he’s accomplished in the offshore world, he recently crossed something new off his 83 year old list. He just got attacked by the sea life he has spent a lifetime sailing above. He explains:
NSW 18ft skiff Championship Race 1
Sunday
Nov 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 18 footers 2022-23 championship season began today when the Australian 18 Footers League staged Race 1 of the NSW Championship in a mainly 8-10 knot North East wind on Sydney Harbour…
Time penalty decides Route du Rhum
Saturday
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After French skipper Roland Jourdain (We Explore) was deemed the winner of the Rhum Multihull class in the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, he dropped to second after being been given a statutory time penalty of 90 minutes as he had a broken lead seal on his boat.
Jourdain had finished today at 19:06:00hrs UTC with an elapsed time for the 3542 nautical miles solo course from Saint-Malo to Guadelope of 16 days 5 hours and 51 minutes in his 61-foot Outremer.
Loïc Escoffier (Lodigroup) had crossed the finish line second today in his 50-foot Barreau design but has now been declared winner of the Rhum Multi division. He crossed the line at Pointe-à-Pitre line at 19:52:23hrs UTC, some 43 mins 23 seconds after Jourdain…
2022 RS Venture Connect World Championship day 4
Saturday
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The fourth day of racing at the 2022 RS Venture Connect World Championships organised by Oman Sail brought with it yet more exceptional sailing and many more surprises…
GKA Kite-Surf & Hydrofoil-Freestyle Worlds day 3
Saturday
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Australian makes it back to back Kite-Surf world titles with this event win at the Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Brazil…
Global Solo Challenge – One watch at a time
Saturday
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
One of my favorite short stories when I was a nipper growing up in South Africa was ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’…
America’s Cup: Rigging the Silver Arrow
Friday
Nov 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The INEOS Britannia shore team and technicians had a busy day dockside today in Palma with the crucial first-stepping of the ‘Silver Arrow’ T6 LEQ12 carbon mast and rigging…
ETNZ Roll out structure upgrade package for all AC40s
Friday
Nov 25
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 25
2022
Posted by deleteme
Following the recent damage to their converted AC40 during testing Emirates Team New Zealand is has been busy coming-up with a fix…
Cup Spy Nov 24: Brits foil testing again
Friday
Nov 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Six days after doing their first towing test in Mallorca, the British America’s Cup Challenger, INEOS Britannia, did a second towing exercise – with the delay between runs put down to inclement weather…
Route du Rhum – Multi Class Leader Gilles Buekenhout (JESS) has capsized
Thursday
Nov 24
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 24
2022
Posted by deleteme
On Wednesday, 23 November, the long time leader of the Rhum Multi Class, Gilles Buekenhout (JESS), reported his yacht had capsized…
Cup Spy Nov 23: American Magic trials new main
Wednesday
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
American Magic made further gains on the other four teams contesting the 37th America’s Cup, with another strong day on Pensacola Bay, sailing in light winds with a newly recut, and larger mainsail…
Route du Rhum – First British finishers Pip Hare and James Haryada
Wednesday
Nov 23
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 23
2022
Posted by deleteme
Britain’s Pip Hare (Medallia) finished 12th IMOCA, and James Haryada (Gentoo) 14th in the early hours of Wednesday morning (23 November)…
NSW 18ft skiff Championship starts Sunday
Wednesday
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sunday’s Race 1 of the NSW 18ft skiff Championship is the first step of a long campaign towards becoming the world’s best team at the 2023 JJ Giltinan Championship next March on Sydney Harbour…
The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Thor Tangvald
Wednesday
Nov 23
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 23
2022
Posted by deleteme
The first boat Thomas Tangvald ever owned was just 22 feet long. She was an odd craft, a narrow plywood scow with a flat bottom, leeboards on either side, and square ends—little more than a daysailer with a rotting deck and tiny cabinhouse tacked on. Thomas paid just $200 for her. He proudly named her Spartan and immediately moved aboard. He was but 14 years old at the time, a skinny lad with a tousled mop of blond hair, an earnest smile, and a sharp mind.
Thomas’s home prior to this had been his father’s much larger 50-foot cutter, L’Artemis de Pytheas, a primitive, home-built teak vessel. Thomas was born on this boat, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and had lived on it his entire life as his father roamed the planet under sail. In moving aboard Spartan, he was for the first time asserting some measure of independence, physically separating himself from his father, Peter Tangvald, and his 7-year-old sister, Carmen.
Peter Tangvald was a renowned, somewhat notorious bluewater cruiser. He had been married several times, having famously lost one wife in a pirate attack and another one overboard. Some wondered if he had murdered these women. Now he was a single dad in his mid-60s, with two kids to look after. Recently he had suffered two heart attacks and was palpably weaker than before.
In July 1991, nine months after Thomas moved aboard Spartan, Peter decreed his family should sail from the Puerto Rican island of Culebra south to Bonaire to stay clear of hurricanes. He also decided he would tow Spartan behind L’Artemis some 400 miles across the breadth of the Caribbean to get there.
It was a pretty crazy plan. For one engineless sailboat to tow another all that distance was in itself challenging. But Peter also decided to split up his crew. Spartan had a large open cockpit, and to keep her from being swamped en route to Bonaire, he decided Thomas should stay aboard to repeatedly bail her out. That left Peter and his weak heart to mind both L’Artemis and young Carmen on his own.
No one knows exactly what went wrong, but on the fourth night of their voyage, both L’Artemis and Spartan were wrecked on the windward shore of Bonaire. Thomas had just gotten up to bail out his boat and witnessed the tragedy in full. In the dark night he sensed first they were much too close to shore, but saw no sign of his father on deck aboard L’Artemis. Then Thomas saw a white line of breakers ahead. He saw L’Artemis lurch up into a shelf of mercilessly sharp coral. Then he saw the towline to his boat go slack. Half naked with no pants on, he grabbed his surfboard and jumped overboard in the nick of time.
Thomas spent six hours paddling around before he finally struggled ashore the next morning. His father’s boat, he found, had been ground into “millions of little bits of teak.” Thomas’ body was covered with friction burns, and by the end of that day he was lying in a bed in the local hospital. Over the next two days he was taken back to the wreck site to identify bodies. His sister was found afloat near shore. His father was found on shore with his face smashed in.
Not long afterward, Thomas had two dreams. In the first, his father came to him looking very different than before, but Thomas still recognized him.
“Yes, it’s amazing, isn’t it?” said his father. “I’m all better now.”
In the second dream, Thomas was studying a huge map, trying to decide where to search for his father. But then he remembered he didn’t have to look for him, because he was already dead.
The second boat Thomas owned was as small as the first, just 22 feet on deck. But she was also much more seaworthy. This was a traditional Itchen Ferry cutter named Melody. Where Spartan had been little more than a flat, hard-cornered box, Melody had a deep hull, a long keel, and sinuous curves that yielded to passing waves rather than resisting them…
Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe update
Wednesday
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
French skipper Yoann Richomme joined the very elite group of solo ocean racers to have twice won their class on the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe today, with a win in the Class40 from a record entry of 55 boats…
Cup Spy Nov 21: Italians reveal new move
Tuesday
Nov 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Luna Rossa has emerged from the shed to undertake towing tests, with some basic sensors attached to their port wingfoil. Emirates Team NZ are still evaluating their options after destroying the bow of their AC40 in a training nosedive at 40kts yesterday…
Swiss skipper Justine Mettraux top female
Tuesday
Nov 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Swiss skipper Justine Mettraux (Teamwork.net) took seventh place in the IMOCA class when she crossed the finish line of the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe at 02:41:35 UTC this morning, 22 November…
Route du Rhum – Record breaking IMOCA win for Thomas Ruyant
Tuesday
Nov 22
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 22
2022
Posted by deleteme
Thomas Ruyant (LInkedOut) is king of the Transats after record breaking Route du Rhum IMOCA win…
david v goliath
Tuesday
Nov 22
2022
Posted by deleteme
Nov 22
2022
Posted by deleteme
The Environment
Greenpeace activists from Mexico and New Zealand renewed their protests over deep-sea mining again targeting the drill ship Hidden Gem, as it returned from its first test mission in the Pacific. The vessel has been the target of past previous environmentalists’ protests over the controversial practice of extracting precious minerals from the deep sea.
The Hidden Gem (61,000 dwt) is a converted drill ship, operated by Swiss company Allseas and commissioned by Canadian miner The Metals Company. While the vessel was undergoing its conversion in Rotterdam in preparation for the new role it was targeted, and again at the end of last week as it arrived off the coast of Manzanillo, México after eight weeks of test mining.
Activists from Greenpeace protested in kayaks holding banners that read “Stop Deep Sea Mining,” as the vessel reached Mexico. Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner James Hita, onboard a small vessel off the Manzanillo coast, also delivered a message of protest to the captain of the Hidden Gem via radio. The protest was mostly symbolic to draw attention to their cause. Read on.
Abandon boat: Sunk in five minutes
Monday
Nov 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
When 2022-23 Golden Globe Race front-runner Tapio Lehtinen was woken by a loud noise, he had five minutes to escape his sinking boat. Translated from Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat, he shares some details from a cargo ship en route to China:
Lehtinen, 64, managed to lower the life raft into the water, and thanks to the good weather, he was able to calmly wait for the rescuers, who arrived a day later.
He still can’t believe that after careful preparation, the Asteria boat sank in five minutes.
“During those five minutes, the thought that this could not be possible was running through the back of my head. I was able to react to the situation without panicking and without getting nervous, but I also had a bit of a problem with me because the weather was so good.”
After reaching the life raft, Lehtinen watched his beloved boat sink below the surface of the water. After two days since the accident, the cause remains a mystery to him. Asteria was completely rebuilt five years ago before the previous round-the-world sailing organized in 2018…
MORE: In a blog post by Peter Foerthmann, he speculates how the stern may have incurred significant damage due to the auxiliary rudder system. For photos and details, click here.
Retaining a seat at the wingfoiling table
Monday
Nov 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Nov 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
World Sailing has partnered with the Global Wingsports Association (GWA) and the International Wing Sports Association (IWSA) to support the development of the fast growing sailing discipline wingfoiling. Riders in this genre have a foiling board and a handheld wingsail.
Under a new governance structure for the sport, and eager to retain a seat at these tables, the world governing body for the sport of sailing will endorse two Wingfoil world tours to cater to the fast-growing wingfoiling community and provide the best platform for sailors across the globe…
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